European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi after the Governing council Meeting of the ECB today in Barcelona.AFP/Getty Images

BARCELONA — European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi reiterated once more Thursday that it is the responsibility of individual eurozone governments to take the next steps necessary to restore the region’s economy to full health.

“We note progress is being made in many countries, but several governments need to be more ambitious,” Draghi said in Barcelona. “They must take determined policy actions to address major imbalances.”

During opening remarks at his monthly news conference, he stuck largely to his previous assessment of the eurozone economy, saying it would “recover gradually” over the course of the year, Dow Jones reported.

At the same time, Draghi said, inflation will stay above the bank’s medium-term target of “close to, but below, two percent” for the rest of the year but will fall below two percent early next year.

“The economic outlook continues to be subject to downside risks,” he added.

The central bank earlier left its key lending rate unchanged at a record low of one percent, as analysts expected.

Draghi stirred the growth-versus-austerity debate last week by calling on European leaders to craft a “growth compact” that would complement the recently-signed fiscal compact that aims to enshrine tough budget rules across much of Europe, MarketWatch reported.

At least 11 eurozone countries have seen at least two consecutive quarters of shrinking gross domestic product, meeting the widely-used definition of a recession. Many economists expect eurozone GDP data, which is set for release May 15, to show that the region’s overall economy contracted for a second consecutive quarter in the first three months of this year, it added.